Cross-Country Road Trip Suggestions: Durham to San Diego

[RTee]

My buddy from high school just graduated from Duke Law School and has to drive his car back to Southern California (where we're from). So of course I'm joining him on a good ol' fashioned American road trip! We're leaving from Durham this Friday, August 7th, and are going to end up in San Diego (where I am). Now we need breakfast, lunch, and (possibly late) dinner recommendations for the trip! FYI, I'm cross posting this thread on the "Southwest" board too.

We have some specific stops planned, and thus cities for which we need good food recs. I'm looking for local food, preferably unique to the city/region, and/or representative of what locals eat. So I'm thinking soul food and BBQ are necessities, for example. Really good red beans and rice? Favored fried chicken? Is Tex-Mex any good at all?? Regional/small chains are acceptable in this case, I think.

So here they are, and the approximate meal we need:
Atlanta, GA - Lunch
Montgomery, AL - Breakfast, Dinner
New Orleans, LA - Lunch
Beaumont, TX - Breakfast, Dinner
Austin, TX - Lunch
Ozona, TX - Dinner (and Breakfast anywhere nearby that area to the west)
Tucson, AZ - Lunch

Ideas so far:
-Wishbone Cafe in Montgomery for dinner (not breakfast, since it's east of the city).
-Felix's or Parkway Bakery in New Orleans for oysters and po boys.
-Patillo's Bar-BQ in Beaumont.
-Ruby's or Trudy's in Austin.

That's all I've come up from my research so far. In case you're wondering, I don't have anything for Atlanta yet because I've seen so many recommendations that I have no idea where to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[RTee]

Tucson, AZ: BK Tacos. Sonoran style hot dogs. Caramelos. Winner. I love this place with it's $3 beers, $2.50 Sonoran style hot dogs and delicious caramelos. I also had a cabeza taco that was pretty good, but I've had better in San Diego so I'll leave that alone. The caramelos are basically two lightly fried tortillas (pan-fried?) with meat and melted queso fresco in the middle. Honestly, with decent meat and good queso fresco, that's a combination that's just tough to beat. I wanted to eat another before I left, but my stomach was already bursting. It was so good that I ended up hardly using any of the numerous condiments I got from their extensive salsa/condiment bar, which included guacamole. Nice touch on the guac! As long as it stays summer I think I'm going to have to make my own Sonorah style hot dog at home. I was pleasantly surprised at finding that the bacon that wraps the dog doesn't overpower the whole hot dog and the flavors with the onion, tomatoes and beans actually all balance out very well. I could eat so many of these... I'm almost glad there are no Sonoran style hot dog joints around SD that open late that I could stumble drunkenly into and then eat out of house and home.

Yuma, AZ: I clearly did not plan out my trip perfectly because I was not supposed to stop in Yuma. Among other things, I completely forgot to take into account that I'd be driving through a few time zones. Anyway.. Yuma! The oh so well documented city because of a notable blogger of an SD food site and numerous postings on Chowhound. I had no trouble finding a place to eat in Yuma. I originally intended to go to Pupuseria Y Tacqueria Cabañas but it turns out they're closed for the entire month of August. Sad times. It's ok, though, I have a backup plan: Los Manjares de Pepe! Los Manjares is situated in a nice building that looks like it could be your grandma's house (actually, it looks like *my* grandma's house). There's a sign just insde the front door that notes the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and daily specials. At first I was saddened when I saw that the Wednesday special was "Pork in [I forget!] Sauce," as I was there on Tuesday. But wait, the Daily Special on Tuesday is Pork in [I forget!] Sauce? WINNER! I also felt inclined to order a carnitas taco, just to see if they made good carnitas. First the chips and salsa came out and they were both really good. I wonder if the chips are fried in-house? Methinks it's a possibility. The salsa is a bit spicy with good flavor, albeit too watery for my tastes. I prefer a chunkier variety. I can't help but mention that the portion sizes at Los Manjares are not for people with skinny jeans. If I wasn't planning on spending the next few hours in a car, I certainly would have tried to take some of this home. That being said, the pork was delicious! The flour tortillas that came with it were also quite possibly the best flour tortillas I've ever had. It should be noted, though, that I normally order corn tortillas, as I did with my carnitas taco. A carnitas taco that blew my tongue away. The carnitas was so flavorful, well seasoned, and just generally perfect. Could this be the best carnitas taco (or burrito, for that matter) that I've ever had? It's a definite possibility, but now I have to go order more carnitas to make sure. But good luck Everybody Else, Los Manjares might easily dominate you. Next time I might just order four of those tacos... oh man they were blissful.

So that's all for my cross-country road trip from North Carolina to Southern California. I had a blast and I ate really well, in no small part because of the help I got here, so thank you! I hope you guys enjoyed this extensive recap. =) Maybe it'll help someone else who's traveling around the Southern part of America some time. And if they do, I'd like to mention that I'm very sad I never got to visit a Waffle House on my trip, or Cook Out in NC.

[RTee]

Lockhart, TX: It might well be the mecca of Texas BBQ from everything I hear and read. Home of Smitty's, Black's and Kreuz's. Just down the road in Luling is City Market, and somewhere else in the near vicinity is Rudy's. Each reputedly the best Texas BBQ around, all I can say is that they're probably all very good. The only one I can give a detailed report on is Black's. We reached Lockhart on a Sunday so Kreuz's was closed, but I had already decided to go to Black's anyway. After Willy Ray's, I wanted better brisket. After eating the smoky, moist brisket at Black's I have to say that brisket is really not my favorite medium for BBQ. I much prefer ribs and sausage. That being said, the ribs at Black's were subpar compared to Willy Ray's in Beaumont. The flavor was a bit underdeveloped, the meat was on the dry side and was not falling-off-the-bone tender. I had to use quite a bit of Black's BBQ sauce to get through my two ribs, which was very unfortunate. On a side note, most of the sides also looked pretty average. My friend said both the Mac 'n Cheese and mashed potatoes were "eh." I got the coleslaw and it was just a shade above average, but nothing to write home about. Now for the good: Black's sausage was *very* good. Coarse ground, well spiced and with a good bite to the outer skin, I really enjoyed this sausage. It probably didn't hurt that I had to wait a few minutes to get a fresh batch because they were out when I went up. Actually, the staff tried to sell me on the garlic and the other style of sausage, I forget what flavor, but I definitely had to decline once I found out that the regular sausage was so favored that the last batch was already out. I've seen other people worry about the greasiness of sausage, which is not something I mind normally, but I made it a point to notice it at Black's and didn't think their sausage was that greasy at all. Now, Black's gets the award for first restaurant (or person, for that matter) to ever serve turkey that I think legitimately competes with the other delicious meats. I tried some of my traveling partner's turkey. Unbelievable. Their turkey was so moist, flavorful and with a good amount of smoke (for my taste). I was blown away. I would go back to Black's just for the turkey.

Fort Stockton, TX: I'm sorry Fort Stockton, but I think I hate you as a city. My friend and I had dozens of complaints when we visited this small West Texas town, that I won't go into on this board. The topping on the proverbial crap cake of this stop was the failure of the McDonald's to even provide normal service. If you want to know why I, as a foodie, ended up at McD's, ask. Otherwise, the story is that I ordered a Mushroom and Swiss Angus Burger, I got my burger and bit into it and it was delicious. But... the "swiss cheese" was yellow-orange. Wait a second! you might say, swiss cheese is white! Yes, swiss cheese *is* white. My mushroom and swiss burger somehow became mushroom and american cheese. Wtf? There about 7 customers in this McD's, equivalent to the behind-the-counter staff, and my burger only required two non-burger items. One of them was wrong. I boo Fort Stockton.

El Paso, NM: Thanks to the recs I got for this trip, I decided to stop at H&H Car Wash for lunch in El Paso. I was not disappointed. Well, that's not entirely true because it wasn't Wednesday so I didn't get their Mole special. And somehow they were out of chile rellenos by 1pm, when I arrived. Nuts. But their chile colorado was sooooooo good. To be fair, it wasn't much to look at on the plate, but the second I put a fork full of that chile into my mouth I was in food paradise. The pork had the delicious off-the-bone taste of tender rib meat. It was blissful. The dish's flavors were balanced and powerful, with a fresh and full chile (green chiles) taste. Their salsa verde was homemade, spicy, and delicious. I don't know why Americanized Mexican food pulverizes the flavor of actual chiles, but I could really taste the in the food at H&H. And all was well. I wish I had more to say, or a better vocabulary, to describe this food but I'll keep it sweet and simple, like the food you'll find at H&H Car Wash.

[RTee]

New Orleans, LA: Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar. Here's how things went, in order: I hate to say it, but the half dozen oysters on the half shell were not very good. They didn't taste particularly fresh and didn't have that briney, ocean flavor that comes with really fresh, good seafood. I was severely disappointed. I had much better oysters in San Diego just the week before. The fried alligator was pretty good. The breading was pretty thick and mealy in a good way, and they were fried well. The alligator flavor was still noticeable, if not particularly strong. Felix offers a special of a half po' boy and a side, if you don't want to get, or can't finish, full orders of both. I meant to get the catfish po' boy but somehow ordered a crawfish one, and I had it with a tasty side of crawfish etouffee. The po' boy had fried crawfish and was ok, not spectacularly, but acceptable. I would have liked if there was more crawfish in there though. I thought the bread-to-filling ratio was too high. The etouffee, though, was really good. In the interest of full disclosure I need to point out I've never had etouffee before, so I don't know what it's supposed to taste like, but I know what is tasty in the absolute sense. And this was delicious! A thick stew or soup with crawfish and full of flavor that was not terribly overpowering, which it looked like it would be given the deep red-brown color. Overall, Felix's wasn't a bad choice, but maybe I should have done as the others on Chow have mentioned and gone to the bar for oysters

On a side note, I somehow managed to show up in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the 8th annual Red Dress Race, where women *and men* dress up in red dresses or dress-like attire and go on what is essentially a beer scavenger hunt. It was a sight to behold and I wish I had actually spent the day there to join in!

Beaumont, AL: This town is tiny. As far as I could see, there was one street with food in the downtown area, on Crockett Street, and it had 4 large brand-spanking-new-looking restaurants/bars. I guess I didn't do my homework about Beaumont, but this small Texas town looked like a place to get unpretentious, unassuming food from local shops. Instead, the places on Crockett Street looked like they were trying to emulate the flashy restaurants/bars of downtown Los Angeles. They just didn't quite fit to me considering the surroundings and the otherwise not flashy city. But I just drove through, what do I know of Beaumont? Well, now I know that Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q just off of Interstate 10 makes some freakin' great ribs! I thought their brisket was a bit on the dry side, but I didn't ask for fatty brisket and my friend got a brisket sandwich that he said was pretty damn good too. I got the turnip greens as a side, and they were as good as these kinds of greens get, as far as I can tell. I've only had collard greens a few times, and these seemed to have been cooked in a similar fashion. I'd get them again. But far more importantly, their carrot souffle is to-die-for. As a rule, I don't like carrot-based foods that aren't stews or sauces. I'm not a fan of carrot cake. But this carrot souffle was just unbelievable good. It was sweet and moist with what almost tasted like a caramelized carrot flavor. This one might have to become part of my last meal on Death Row. Needless to say, I was extremely impressed by Willy Ray's.

[RTee]

I have returned! And I have to say I'm really glad I did it. Now I can finally say I've seen (the southern part of) America from end to end and taken a good ol' fashioned American road trip. I always like to know what suggestions were taken and how things turned out, so I've come back to let you all know what was delicious and what was forgettable. Thankfully, nothing was abysmal; Quality Inn breakfasts not withstanding. WARNING: Extremely Long Series of Posts.

Durham, NC: To start it off I toured a bit of the Duke campus in Durham and got breakfast/lunch, after my red eye flight, at the law building. There's a whole new section to it with glass windows/walls and a decent, little cafeteria. For about $6.50 I got a big bowl of Cheesy Grits, Homestyle Potatoes (I think that's what they called 'em... it's close, anyway) and a Mixed Berry Smoothie that weighed in at, I'd say, 10oz. The potatoes had good seasoning on them, so no complaints there. The grits and the berry smoothie were fantastic, though! I was pretty shocked at what an out of session law building cafeteria would provide, but I was told I'd have to wait for my smoothie because they actually blend the berries when you order. I assume the berries are frozen, but still, that's not too shabby!

Atlanta, GA: Didn't get to see as much of the city as I would have liked since we got a late start, so we headed straight to The Vortex Bar & Grill. These guys make a mean burger. And their menu isn't so nice either. To say this bar/restaurant has character is a gross understatement. That all being the case, I like Vortex. Their menu dictates an Idiot-Free Zone, they have stand-up comedy attached next door, the music is decent and not so loud I have to yell at my friend one foot away, and most importantly their burgers are damn good! I got the Black 'n Blue Burger medium rare. The patty has cajun seasoning on it and is then blackened, and they put a heavy dollop (think ice cream scoop) of their blue cheese spread which is surprisingly not overwhelming. I could still taste the perfectly cooked and very flavorful beef over the blue cheese. Now that is impressive, and unusual. They also serve locally brewed beers, which I am a huge fan of, being a home brewer myself. The Sweetwater Blueberry Wheat was very light with a strong blueberry flavor. The Sweetwater Extra Pale Ale was fantastic. I thought it was well balanced, fuller in body than most pale ales and had a good overall flavor. I wish I had a better review of it, but I was really tired and only had two sips from my friend's beer.

At this point I should mention that all breakfasts on my trip were taken in hotel breakfasts, sadly, and not local joints. So I will only review one, the following one.

Montgomery, AL: The Holiday Inn Express a few miles shy of Montgomery on the I-85 had the best breakfast of the trip. They also had free USA Todays, and I always appreciate a paper with my breakfast instead of watching potential TV morning inanity. They had hot, freshly cooked eggs (probably from egg starters, though), sausage patties, yogurt cups, bananas (maybe other fruit? I don't remember), chilled hard-boiled eggs, and a variety of muffins, bagels and pastries. Every breakfast had the same multi-juice vending machine, much like those soda machines at fast food joints.

[The Chowhound Team]

Hi-

Please post a separate query on the Southwest board for the leg of your travel through New Mexico and Arizona, where locals will find it and may be able to help you out.

Thanks.

[RTee]

Sorry, I'm normally a follower and this is my first post. I basically copy/pasted the original query onto the Southwest board at the same time I posted this one, is that OK or was that against etiquette? People have definitely found that one too and helped out with responses.

[The Chowhound Team]

That is fine, but for future reference, you might want to either disclose the fact that you have cross posted on one or more other regional boards, or edit your posts, so that the subsequent discussion on any given board focuses on the local dining scene for that locale. Also, if you have not already, you will want to post something on the Texas board. And San Diego, of course is discussed on the California board.

Hope you have a great road trip. (You might also want to ask locals on the Austin board about checking out nearby Luling or Lockhart, for recommendations of some of the most famous barbeque places in Texas.)

[RTee]

Thanks for the advice. =) I hope people noticed that I mentioned I was cross posting on the South and Southwest boards in the original query, but maybe I'll make it more blatant next time, as it's easy to miss.

I've definitely noticed all the chatter about Luling and Lockhart having amazing BBQ, which is actually why I didn't post on the Austin board. I don't like to muddy up the boards too much when I can do a few searches and get the same information people have already said. But thanks for the tip. I'd be sooo disappointed if I'd missed those!

[shallots]

Dear Lord, You're choosing to go the hotter, southernmost route? And you're choosing to drive through Atlanta. Just watch your tires; the roads are clogged with delaminated tire treads.
Were I you, I'd choose to follow I-40 west and hit better weather and different cuisines.
But going south, try for lunch at Mulates in Breaux Bridge LA, about five miles south of the interstate.
Beaumont to Austin is a really long haul between breakfast and Lunch. Houston Lunch might fit better, then four hours to dinner in Austin. Or go San Antonio for dinner.
Long Haul west either way, stopping at a grocery store for lunch worked the last time I did that drive. Then El Paso for dinner or up into NM for the old stage coach restaurant (whose name escapes me).

[RTee]

Haha yes, I'm going the hotter route. There's no great rhyme or reason why other than the southernmost route seems fun, I've never been there, there's the possibility that I won't go there again ever, and I think the cuisines should be diverse enough for me. I love seafood, so being closer to the Gulf should make for good catches.

Thanks for the tips on the tires, that's something I'll pay attention to now. I'm a bit worried that each leg of my trip is going to be a long haul, but I don't have the vacation time to take it any easier, sadly. But it's a road trip, we'll see what happens! I'm assuming quite a lot of stuff will not go as planned, but that's half the fun of it.

[yahooer]

Great adventure you're embarking on. We made the cross country trip in May and discovered some wonderfful places. Here are some of them in no particular order. If you're near any of them, I'm sure you'll be as amazed as we were by what's out there if you can find it.
Bari, Memphis, TN. Modern Italian open for dinner only. We had a number of small plates including aappetizers, salads and pasta. All were wonderful. If they still have the blood orange proseco, try it. You'll like it.
The Standard Diner, Albuquerque, NM. Very upscale diner. I had rabbit enchilladas I'll never forget. Husband had meat loaf. Wonderful food. You can't go wrong here. I wish we had a place like this in Chapel Hill.
Grapes, Jerome, AZ, a ghost town about half an hour from Sedona. Their Zinburger was the best burger I've ever had.
You're gonna love Tex-Mex. Zia Diner, Santa Fe. Breakfast, lunch dinner, choose one or choose them all. Tune-up Cafe used to be a gas station, now it's serving great Mexican and Salvadoran food for lunch and dinner. Harry's Roadhouse was another good one in Santa Fe. One old favorite is The Compound which is still wonderful but pricy Rellenos Cafe in Taos was another place we're glad we found.
One tip, no matter how tired you are, don't get off the road in Winnamucca, NV for anything, not even gas. Only edible thing we had there was a box of Oreos from the market.
Happy trails.

[RTee]

Rabbit enchiladas, you say? Our plans are to go along the southern portions of NM and AZ stopping through Las Cruces and Tucson, which would preclude us from going to Jerome or Albuquerque or Santa Fe, but all plans are tentative (especially on a road trip!), so I'll be keeping these recs for consideration. ;)

Good to know about Winnemucca. If I ever get within 20 miles of the place I'll be sure to gas up and get through it as quickly as possible.

Thanks yahooer. I'm ridiculously excited about this trip, I'm assuming the one you took in May was a good one? What path did you and the husband take?

[bbqdawg]

In Atlanta, you might consider The Varsity, Vortex, Anne's Snack Bar or Harold's BBQ.

[RTee]

Thanks bbqdawg. I guess I should figure out if I want BBQ or burgers or what while I'm in Atlanta... Although I've read quite a few people say that while The Varsity is something of a landmark, it's overrated and the food is subpar. So I guess that's one choice down, three to go.

[RTee]

Actually, what do you think of Fox Bros.?

[bbqdawg]

Sorry, but I haven't been to Fox Brothers, so I can't offer an opinion. However, others rate it highly. Two other posiblities, which I alo haven't tried, are Tasty China in Marietta and Flip Burger.

[RTee]

I hear/read lots of good things about Tasty China, but unless it's the best Chinese food in America I'm probably going to have to pass. L.A. has some spectacular chinese food and I'm not too far to go there on a day trip if I really want excellent Chinese food.

Flip looks really interesting, I saw it mentioned before but didn't realize it was Richard Blaise's (who I know from Top Chef). That could be very worth it, but not very Atlanta... I think this is going to end up being a game-time decision.

[yahooer]

Re: Tasty China. The Chef who gave it the kick to be world class left a couple of years ago and is reported to be in Knoxville at Hong Kong restaurant. Cant' prove it by us. We thought Hong Kong was remarkably unremarkable in spite of the fact that we did order many of the photos on the wall. Even Scallion Bubble Pancakes were greasy and ddry at the same time. Maybe Peter wasn't there the day we were there. But we're from LA, too, and after Hong Kong, we waited till we got back to LA to visit another Chinese Restaurant.